Jeff Clark was perched on a bluff above a remote section of Pacifica State Beach in early February and – of course – the Mavericks Surf Contest was on his mind.

It was his ritual. Long before the contest window closed March31, he would spend almost every day watching his fellow surfers tussle with the waves below, looking for something, anything that might hint at when to call the contest.

Most of the time, though, he looked out at flat waters. It never delivered the 40-foot waves that have made Mavericks so memorable over the years, and organizers were forced to cancel the event for the third time in nine years.

But the man who started it all, back in 1999, by making a Mavericks contest a reality, isn’t shedding a tear over the demise of this year’s competition. After months of being hounded by the media since the contest window opened in January, Clark is preparing for a vacation – and another chance to surf – this time, at a big-wave contest in Chile. Later this summer, he’ll head to South Africa to surf more big waves with several California buddies.

“Everybody’s bummed the contest didn’t happen,” Clark said. “For the surfers involved, we just move to the next contest and chase waves there.”

The attention this year has been unprecedented, and occasionally unnerving, say Clark and others involved with the contest. His cell phone has rung constantly with contest-related concerns; people would stop him in the street and ask, “When’s Mavericks?”

Now that the waiting period for the contest has run out, the community near Half Moon Bay seems to be in mourning.

“People will come up while I’m standing in line and say, `my condolences,'” Clark said.

The big-wave pioneer still remembers how quiet the surf spot used to be. From 1975, when he discovered the mighty waves and rocky jowls of the Mavericks surf break, to 1990, when his surfing buddies dared to join him, Clark had the place all to himself.

“It used to be the place I could go to chill, like the Indian going out on the mountaintop and checking out the whole world,” he said. “It was one of the greatest waves in the whole world, and it was my sanctuary.”

The 50-year-old, whose curly black hair is now streaked with gray, has based his life around catching that wave: When he’s not shaping boards at his small store, the Mavericks Surf Shop in Princeton-by-the-Sea, he’s out on the ocean.

But as the event has grown beyond his reckoning, the would-be simple surfer has had to play businessman and publicity agent, too. Clark and his partners at Mavericks Surf Ventures LLC spend all year planning for Mavericks – whether or not it happens.

This year, Clark was the first to recognize that Mother Nature had probably pre-empted their hard work this year. And last week, Mavericks Surf Ventures canceled its plans for a big public beach party this month after Clark asked his partners to reconsider.

“I was not for just doing a party on the beach. That’s not the right thing,” he said. “If you’re not going to have a surf contest out there, let’s not have a concert. It’s one of the most beautiful places on the planet.”

Clark spends most of his time representing Mavericks up and down the coast, where he has lived for more than 40 years. When the contest window is open, he talks it up at gas stations and cafes.

Longtime Mavericks surfer Grant Washburn, a good friend of Clark’s, said his buddy’s name will always be synonymous with the event, whether he likes it or not.

“Being a contest organizer is not what Jeff grew up to be,” Washburn said. “He can’t get away from it.”

Clark has yet to turn any real profit from the corporate-sponsored event. His little surf shop remains his main source of income, and his 10-year-old car has 200,000 miles on it. A renter, he’s still saving up to buy a home on the coast.

Until 1990, no one but Clark would brave Mavericks. Finally, he was able to persuade two Santa Cruz surfers to paddle out with him to the perilous spot where 20-foot waves break before a jagged pile of rocks. News of California’s big-wave mecca spread soon after, drawing carloads of surfers. During the next few years, photographers and camera crews followed.

By the time Clark made plans to hold the first official Mavericks contest in 1999, Quiksilver had signed on as a sponsor. Jeep, Verizon and other big names were right behind it.

Some surfers have blamed Clark for commercializing Mavericks – a charge he angrily denies.

“Just because I invited some guys from Santa Cruz to surf with me,” he said, “now these guys are calling me a sellout.”

But Clark isn’t worrying, for now. He’s packing his bags – and his surfboard – and moving on for a while.

“I’m off to the next continent,” he said. “I’m going to get out of here.”

[…] the contest. In February, Mavericks Invitational Inc., founded by Half Moon Bay surfing pioneer Jeff Clark, filed a claim for about $2.15 million against Cartel Management. Clark is the surfer who helped […]

[…] Mavericks pioneer Jeff Clark partnered with Guess in 2014 to try to solve the organizational flaws. Guess rebranded the competition Titans of Mavericks and promised more prize money for the surfers and better media exposure that would catapult the event to the top of the extreme-sports world. […]

https://www.newsaddup.com/mavericks-surf-contest-a-go-for-this-season-if-waves-cooperate/ Mavericks surf contest a go for this season — if waves cooperate - NewsAddUp

[…] and dysfunction since the idea to hold an invitational began in 1999. It came to a head after Mavericks pioneer Jeff Clark partnered with Guess in 2014 to try to solve the organizational flaws. Guess rebranded the […]